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= reordercap(1)
:doctype: manpage
:stylesheet: ws.css
:linkcss:
:copycss: ../docbook/{stylesheet}

== NAME

reordercap - Reorder input file by timestamp into output file

== SYNOPSIS

[manarg]
*reordercap*
[ *-n* ]
[ *-v* ]
<__infile__> <__outfile__>

== DESCRIPTION

*Reordercap* is a program that reads an input capture file and rewrites the
frames to an output capture file, but with the frames sorted by increasing
timestamp.

This functionality may be useful when capture files have been created by
combining frames from more than one well-synchronised source, but the
frames have not been combined in strict time order.

*Reordercap* writes the output capture file in the same format as the input
capture file.

*Reordercap* is able to detect, read and write the same capture files that
are supported by *Wireshark*.
The input file doesn't need a specific filename extension; the file
format and an optional gzip, zstd or lz4 compression will be automatically detected.
Near the beginning of the DESCRIPTION section of xref:wireshark.html[wireshark](1) or
https://www.wireshark.org/docs/man-pages/wireshark.html
is a detailed description of the way *Wireshark* handles this, which is
the same way *reordercap* handles this.

== OPTIONS

-n::
+
--
When the *-n* option is used, *reordercap* will not write out the output
file if it finds that the input file is already in order.
--

-v::
+
--
Print the version and exit.
--

== SEE ALSO

xref:https://www.tcpdump.org/manpages/pcap.3pcap.html[pcap](3), xref:wireshark.html[wireshark](1), xref:tshark.html[tshark](1), xref:dumpcap.html[dumpcap](1), xref:editcap.html[editcap](1), xref:mergecap.html[mergecap](1),
xref:text2pcap.html[text2pcap](1), xref:https://www.tcpdump.org/manpages/pcap-filter.7.html[pcap-filter](7) or xref:https://www.tcpdump.org/manpages/tcpdump.1.html[tcpdump](8)

== NOTES

This is the manual page for *Reordercap* {wireshark-version}.
*Reordercap* is part of the *Wireshark* distribution.
The latest version of *Wireshark* can be found at https://www.wireshark.org.

It may make sense to move this functionality into *editcap*, or perhaps *mergecap*, in which case *reordercap* could be retired.

HTML versions of the Wireshark project man pages are available at
https://www.wireshark.org/docs/man-pages.

== AUTHORS

.Original Author
[%hardbreaks]
Martin Mathieson <martin.r.mathieson[AT]googlemail.com>

